Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1887-03-08

Bay Ridge Road--Our Circular Drive,


b
clear and hopeful statement of "A
member of the improvement As
ISOLATION in regard to the shore or
beach road to Bay Ridge, it may be
we'll to explain that this road is but
part Of plan to give Annapolis and
its neighborhood a continuous drive
of some ten miles or more which
will surround the city and connect
the principal points of interest and
activity.
With no opposition worth regard
ing, but with many unavoidable
difficulties to surmount the portion
of this route from Horn Point to
Bay Ridge is in a fair way to be
soon made as explained by my
brother member-but while this.
end had been persistently pushed
by one committee of the Improve
ment Assoc alton, another has work
ed hard to VAtain from the FEEDER
al GoyernmEt q, road from our city
limits to the Soldiers Cemetery and
thence to THE Government Farm
aud the "'IAlsey drive on the
Severn. Twdafwy favorable reports
have been mSs~i' 10y U. S. Engineers
who, at heinvitation of the commit
tee visited the locality and both the
Quartermaster's Department and
the Association have had prepared
accurate maps for the inspection of
the Committee of Congress to whom
were referred the bill introduced in
the Senate by Mr.. German and in
the House by Mr.. Compton. Mr..
Compton has been a very urgent
advocate before the committee who
could offer no reasonable objection
to the appropriation, but opposition
from an unknown source has until
the next Congress at least, delayed
success. When we have discovered
our opponents we are ready for a
fair fight and in some form BROTHER
will be successful.
The location of the r. r. connec-
ting the Short Line with the Bay
Ridge r. r. will in some measure
determine the route of the proposed
avenue from the Soldiers, Cemetery
to the Severn shore. To explain
the Importance of this link in the
chain of our circle, let us trace the
route. Reaching "Ramsey's drive
from the city or through the Naval
Academy grounds Tin the future),
we follow the Severn shore passing
the County bridge. The proposed
line to complete the Ramsey drive
will skirt the boundary of the gov
ernment property and join the
Avenue to the Soldiers Cemetery at
or near the A. b. S. l.. r. r.
From the Soldiers Cemetery the
county road extends to Bay Ridge
and can easily be improved into a
wide avenue if the owners of ada
cent land will as matter of ultimate
profit give the ground needed, as
building sites adjacent to such a
drive would be very desirable. From
Bay Ridge the return to Annapolis
would be by the shore of Annapolis
roads, crossing Back creek and Spa
creek. 10 finally complete this
plan and realize all its advantages
to the city, Compromise street
should be prolonged to connection
with Spa bridge and by a wide
street extending from the Catholic
church to the Naval Academy even
tually give fine business street on
cur water front.
The opposition to improvements,
from those who are in
their completion most benefited by
them, is not peculiar to our city.
In New York the opponents of the
Central park opposed for three
years its establishment and the very
they would have sold
before the Park existed for three
thousand dollars is now worth
nearer two millions. In Baltimore
the system of Parks, than which
there is no greater blessing to the
poor man to-day, was retarded for
fifty years by the cry that it was a
scheme of the ssilk-stocking gentry
and, as we have heard said here,
s.for some body's benefit.
Change in public sentiment here
is a hopeful sign, and not a few of
the opponents of improvement have
been converted or silenced. Before
the entire disappearance of that